where Strøget - The Walking Street - crosses Gammel Torv

on the square in front of city hall in 1954

The Pølsevogn or sausage wagons are still a prominent feature on the main squares in the city but they have been around in Copenhagen for longer than many might think. They arrived here exactly 100 years ago …. licences were granted in 1920 but the first sausage stalls or hot dog stands opened on 18th January 1921 when six pølsevogn were set up around the city.

They were incredibly popular - there were 400 in the city by 1950 - and it was not long before they could be found in most cities in the country and pølsevogn were even taken abroad to keep fans supplied for major international sporting events. The number in Copenhagen had dropped to 60 by 2010 and I could not find figures for the current number of licences.

They are not allowed to stay on their pitch overnight in Copenhagen so some are towed away by car each evening although the endearing wagons have a large battery - usually driving a single front wheel - and with a long handle they hum along behind the sausage seller like a giant mechanical dog that follows the owner to the pitch in the morning and then heads for home in the evening.

The first carts had a large copper boiler to warm up the various types of sausage sold.

It’s a bit like the smell of fresh coffee or the smell of toast …. the smell of the sausages is hard to resist.

out near the church of St Alban

Kongens Nytorv

How, oh how, can you sell open sandwiches in the street?

I came across this photograph in the city archive on line when I was looking for something else and could not resist posting it here. For a start it is an amazing social document re the way men dressed.

That coat and the hat of the customer are amazingly elegant and, even now, I still prefer to wear trousers with turn ups - what I think Americans call a cuff - but also the rubber cloth coat of the boy and his cap and the fact he is wearing a tie is quite something and I like the contrast with the old man who looks as if he is dreaming of being able to afford a sandwich.

But the real question it raises for me is how smørrebrød - a Danish open sandwich - can be wrapped in paper let alone eaten on the move. I thought one advantage with the open sandwich, with all it's additions and layers, is that it makes people take a break …. makes them sit down to do the sandwich justice.

coffee vans in the city

a cold Sunday on the quay of the harbour in January

There seem to be more and more of these small electric coffee stalls and food delivery vehicles around the city and they seem like a simple and safe place to get a coffee while so many places are closed because of the pandemic.

I won't complain because, despite attempts to cut down my caffeine intake, I still need inflight refuelling.